The main legal point established in the judgment is that the benefit of reservation under the Act, 2016 could not be extended as the relevant rule basis upon which the advertisement was published was of the year 2015, prior to the date of promulgation of Act, 2016. Additionally, the court emphasized that the statute had bifurcated the vacancy to be filled up from 'para teacher' and 'non-para teacher' category, and therefore, the benefit of reservation under the disabled category could not be extended by clubbing together the vacancy of 'para teacher' and 'non-para teacher'.

JUDGMENT :

Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.

The instant intra-court appeal, under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent, is directed against the order/judgment dated 11th July, 2018, passed by learned Single Judge in W.P.(S) No. 546 of 2016 whereby and whereunder the writ petition was dismissed declining to pass any positive direction for appointment of writ petitioner to the post of Trained Graduate Teacher (Science) in terms of the advertisement with Regional Language-Angika under Visually Handicapped Category-General.

2. The brief facts of the case, as per pleadings made in the writ petition, which are required to be enumerated read as hereunder:

The respondents-authorities, through Human Resource Development Department, Govt. of Jharkhand, Ranchi issued advertisement inviting applications for filling up total vacancies of 3972 Trained Graduate Teachers (Class- VI-VIII) in different districts of State of Jharkhand.

As per the conditions mentioned in the advertisement the candidates applying for the post/subject must possess degree of the concerned subject at graduation level. It was further mentioned that the candidates may apply from the district/districts in which the subject of their eligibility along with Regional Language vacancies are available and further they will be appointed on the basis of merit list prepared in consonance with the circular published by the respondent-authority.

The petitioner, found himself eligible, applied for the post of Trained Graduate Teachers (science)with Regional Language-Angika under Visually Handicapped Category-General (‘non-para’) in the districts of Jamtara, Pakur, Deoghar, Godda, Sahebganj and Dumka in pursuance to advertisement Nos. 3/2015, 3/2015, 3/2015, 3/2015, 5/2015 and 2/6/2015 respectively. It has further been averred that disabled/Visually Handicapped persons were to be appointed in terms of circular dated 07.11.2007 published by the Personnel Administrative Reforms and Rajbhasha Department, Government of Jharkhand, Annexure-2 to the writ petition.

It is the case of the petitioner that as per Advertisement/Circular, he ought to have been declared successful in all the aforesaid districts but declared qualified only in District of Dumka, Godda and Sahebganj. It is specific case of the petitioner that though he qualified in the districts of Dumka, Godda and Sahebganj and seats were vacant for appointment in visually handicapped category in Dumka district but his case was not considered for appointment on the post in question, therefore, he approached this Court invoking the writ jurisdiction of this Court conferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India by filing writ petition being W.P. (S) No. 546 of 2016 taking the plea that though he fulfilled all the requisite qualification for appointment to the post in question as per advertisement and in view of the circular of the State Government dated 07.11.2007 but the respondents-authorities have illegally and arbitrarily in complete violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India have not considered his case for appointment.

It was further pleaded that as per information furnished under Right to Information Act by the District Superintendent of Education, Dumka, vide letter no. 2263 dated 22.07.2015, Annexure 7/1 to the writ petition, wherein it has specifically been mentioned that four seats are still vacant in the district of Dumka under handicapped category, the respondents-State ought to have considered the case of the writ petitioner for appointment to the post of teacher for class VI to VIII under visually handicapped category.

During course of hearing, the writ Court vide order dated 12.04.2018 directed the respondents to file additional affidavit stating therein as to whether four posts of Assistant Teachers in the category of disabled persons are vacant or not in view of Annexure-7, Page-155, which is information dated 22.07.2015 supplied under Right to Information Act by the District Superintendent of Education, Dumka.

In compl